Not integrating multinational humans remains the sucking chest wound in emergent US IO.

PSYOP has matured. The successes are being kept secret when they are obviously not secret. “Do Not Surrender” in Gulf II stands out. The name change has not helped. Military mind-set is still constraining.

IO and HTT successes are not being publicized. Only 20-30% but should be widely disseminated and made the standard that the other 70-80% need to live up to.

Need to stop trying to Americanize everything. Let the indigenous partners lead, do not force fit US concepts and US cultural stereotypes.

Depending on the commander, IO can have direct access and can help the commander leverage the good and stop the bad (too much crap from PSYOP).

Cultural Intelligence is not there where needed most, at the tactical level. Hard enough to find US citizens with clearances and cultural/linguistic, using third country nationals not even considered–heretical.

Languages are not there for rest of world, need regimental “all Army” approach that cycles across the HUMINT elements, especially SOF and FAOs on multiple tours, keep them current, keep languages in house and on tap for all countries, not just the wars of the day.

OSINT support stinks–neither DIA nor CIA are responsive nor capable, need OSINT that is in direct support to the tactical units, and need OSINT that is real live sourcing, not media summaries 30 days after the fact.

STRATCOM contract with SOS International not recognized as a resource, probably same same media summaries that are very late and not at all localized or relevant.

Need a US Army OSINT Handbook including reliable inventory of resources that any commander can tap into and actually get responsive support; and perhaps an SOP for “the Army way” of doing OSINT–this is one Ben Benavides would be ideal for–existing contractors simply do not know how to create this.

Nobody is seriously committed to multinational, to engagement outside immediate coalition partners (i.e. to all eight tribes across 90 nations), to unclassified decision support, or to getting OSINT right.

Clarity–only the truth–diversity–all possible parties participate–integrity–don’t ignore the truth when you have it. Truth is not to be found in messages coming from the National Command Authority. It can only be found on the ground accessing real people with real experience.

“What do you think of the over-whelming presence of secrecy across the board?”

90% of secrecy is turf protection and avoidance of accountability. Secrecy is the greatest enemy of American values and American success in global IO.

“How do you actually implement a global multinational grid without going broke?”

Autonomous Internet + crowd sourcing. Do for OSINT what LINUX did for F/OSS.

What can IO do for acquisition?

That’s a whole other full day. Acquisition is out of touch with reality and criminally negligent of the 4% of the force that takes 80% of the casualties while we spend only 1% of the military budget on them. See: